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Thylazine: The Australian Journal of Arts, Ethics & Literature                                                                                                                                    #3/thyla3k-cb AUSTRALIAN POETS SERIES 3 The Poetry of Colleen Burke Selected by Coral Hull [Above] Photo of Colleen Burke by Russ Hermann, 1997. I If only you were here I A full house I illusion of safety I Breaking point I If only you were here In a deserted Snowy mountains village on the edge of a Give Way sign a tiny red breasted robin ignites the gloom. It's a pity that there's no-one around             but me to give way to this minute bird poised in all the glory                             of its plumage. Published in NSW School Magazine (Australia). A full house Bogong moths heading south to the granite tors of the Snowy Mountains are sometimes deflected by storms and bad weather. In NSW millions of them have been found strewn along coastal beaches. In the late 1860s in a Sydney church the Reverend Mobbs had to cancel services because the moths took over. The sudden invasion left no room for the congregation. He counted 80,000 moths on the windows alone relaxing in a summer torpor It was only a small church but still he was assiduous in his moth count. Obviously he'd never experienced such a large attendance before - densely packed with Bogongs it was a full house. Published in Pirouetting on a precipice: Poems of the Blue and White Mountains (Seaview Press, 2001) illusion of safety on a street high in the mountains talking to friends fronds of mist drifting off the valley lick at suburban skin Published in Pirouetting on a precipice: Poems of the Blue and White Mountains (Seaview Press, 2001). Breaking point A dead gumtree trembles beneath the soft weight of twilight. A branch cracks beneath the sway of a black cockatoo. Published in NSW School Magazine (Australia) About the Poet Colleen Burke Colleen Burke, award-winning poet and author, has had numerous books published including eight poetry books, a biography and oral histories. Her Awards include: the edge of it - shortlisted in the NSW State Literary Awards - 1993, three grants from The Australia Council, two Varuna Writing Fellowships - Eleanor Dark Foundation, Katoomba, NSW (1998 and 2002) and a NSW Writers' Fellowship in 2000. (NSW Ministry for the Arts). She is co-editor with Vincent Woods of The Turning Wave - Poems and Songs of Irish Australia, 2001. Her work is represented in anthologies, including Wee Girls - women writing from an Irish perspective.    [Above] Photo of Colleen Burke by Russ Hermann, 1997. I Next I Back I Exit I Thylazine No.3 (March, 2001)